


the wager

by clorinda



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: M/M, YOUTHS, teen damen is still very much in the making, the vibe is romantic heroes are not born but made
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29256162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clorinda/pseuds/clorinda
Summary: “What’s the wager then?” said Damen. “Who’s playing?”“It’s to steal a kiss from the Veretian Prince,” said Nikandros. He made a face without removing his hand splayed over his closed eyes. “And I’ll pass, thank you.”
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 207





	the wager

**Author's Note:**

> I made Damen and Laurent a bit closer in age by around two or three years so that they can both be dumb teenagers together. In my defence, Damen does the same thing in the books.

“Nikandros, will you take the wager?”

“There’s a wager going on?” said Damen, perking up.

Damen was next to Nikandros on the grass, who had lazily moved aside to make room for him under the shade of the tree. The morning sun was starting to get up high in the clear blue sky. Despite the simmering heat of summer, Damen had persuaded Chares into sparring with him wooden sticks they had found fallen on the ground. But there were only so many times Damen could disarm somebody before it became farcical.

“What’s the wager then?” said Damen. “Who’s playing?”

“It’s to steal a kiss from the Veretian Prince,” said Nikandros. He made a face without removing his hand splayed over his closed eyes. “And I’ll pass, thank you.”

“Which one?” said Chares, rolling onto his stomach to look at Gaios. His face was a lot more red than Damen’s from the exercise. “The stuck up one or the one who can fight?”

“The one with the stick up his ass,” said Gaios, with a certain satisfaction. “Prince Laurent.”

Damen sat up to consider it properly. “Just a kiss?” he said. “That's all?”

Chares snorted and flopped back down onto his back. “That’s all?” he said. “Have you _seen_ him?”

Nikandros opened an eye to look at Damen. “Yes, Damen,” he said. “Have you seen him?”

“Auguste would be easier,” Chares went on. “Good man. You could probably fight him for it. Laurent seems the sort to bite. I’ll pass as well.”

“You could tell him it’s Akielon custom,” said Gaios. “And then just lay one on him.”

“It’s not,” said Damen.

“Yes, but he’s Veretian,” said Gaios. “He probably wouldn’t know any better.”

The other boys snickered.

Damen jumped up to his feet. He levelled them all the most disapproving look he had learnt from his father.

“Is there any honour in a victory that is won through deception?” said Damen. “Do you really believe this is how we should be behaving in front of our Veretian guests as young Akielon men?”

Gaios was visibly abashed. “No, of course not,” he said.

“It was only a joke, Exalted,” said Chares.

Nikandros just looked at Damen.

“No,” said Damen, warming to his theme, “if I am going to win a kiss from the Prince of Vere, I will do it fairly and honestly.”

Nikandros snorted and then, reluctantly, pushed himself up into a sitting position. 

“There’s still the time limit,” said Nikandros, and Damen magnanimously decided to forgive his tone. “You really think you can do it before they leave this week? You haven’t even managed a proper conversation with him so far.”

This was a sobering truth. Laurent seemed rather adverse to even looking directly at Damen, let alone engaging in conversation with him. Any time their eyes met and Damen smiled at him, his blue eyes would quickly slide away, his entire face shutting down. Damen had tried, and had been left frowning at him in confusion on more than one occasion during banquets, Laurent’s cheeks flushed a light pink as if he could still feel his eyes on him. He had no idea what it was that he had done to make Laurent take such an instant dislike to him.

Still, Damen rallied his spirits. A challenge would be invigorating.

Damen grinned and pointed his makeshift sword at Nikandros. The excitement of a new conquest was already pumping through his veins. Nikandros batted it away with some irritation.

“You think it would take a Prince of Akielos longer than a day to win a kiss from anyone?” said Damen, proud and boastful. “Just wait.”

***

It was going to take Damen longer than a day to even find him.

Damen had no idea how a prince, especially one who looked like Laurent, could manage to hide away completely unnoticed in a foreign palace. He had been the talk of the palace when he arrived: sharp-minded with elegant manners, he was bright and beautiful. But no matter who he asked there was no hint of where Laurent had gone. 

Persevering, he found himself in a mostly unused south wing of the palace. All there was on this side was the palace library. There was so much else to offer in Akielos that he really had no idea why anybody would choose to spend their days in the library.

Dubiously, Damen pushed open the doors and entered.

Light was spilling into the room from the open windows onto Laurent comfortably curled up in an armchair. It was the most relaxed Damen had ever seen him, his long legs tucked up under him and his book laid open in his lap. There was a faint smile on his lovely face as he turned the page of his book, as if he was expecting something delightful to happen soon. He looked like a painting.

For a moment, Damen was stopped in his steps.

Then Laurent looked up and caught sight of him from across the room and the spell broke as his expression shut down on itself into a familiar blank expression.

“Oh,” said Laurent. He uncurled himself in a single elegant move so that his feet dropped onto the ground. “Prince Damianos.”

Damen came forward, looking around himself. It looked like the family history collection in the gallery had been extended. Damen made a note to tell Kastor about it. 

Laurent’s eyes followed Damen with some wariness as he wandered around the room taking it in. “Did your guards tell you I was looking for you?” said Damen. 

“No,” said Laurent. “I was only wondering if you were lost.”

Damen immediately stopped his curious perusal of the shelves.

“I’m not lost,” said Damen. He looked around for another place to sit but Laurent had occupied the only chair. He dropped himself to sit on the ground in front of him.

Laurent blinked down at him, and then moved his gaze to where Damen was leaning his arm on his chair.

“I heard your brother left on the hunting trip," said Damen cheerfully. He used his most friendly voice. "And I thought you might like some company.”

“Not especially,” Laurent said. “I have my book.”

He said it in very precise but noticeably accented Akielon, as if he was weighing every word carefully in his mouth before he spoke. Damen wondered for the first time if he kept away from the other noble boys simply because he had trouble with the language.

“What are you reading?” said Damen, switching to Veretian.

Laurent looked back at the book in his hands like he had forgotten it was there. It was slammed shut in a sharp movement.

“It’s a foreign story.” Laurent answered back in Veretian without any acknowledgement of Damen making the effort for him. “You wouldn’t know it.”

“Perhaps you can recommend something to me.”

“Do you read?” said Laurent, in the same cool tone a person might condescend to ask _Can you?_

Damen grinned, and Laurent’s frown slipped briefly before finding its way back. “It’s been known to happen,” said Damen. “I enjoy the epics of Akielos. But I read less often lately. There’s always something else to be done.”

Laurent paused, as if considering what to say. “You wouldn’t like this book,” he said finally. “But I will find something else for you. If you like.”

“I would like that,” said Damen, warmly. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as hard as he had expected. He leaned forward with his arms on his legs and smiled up at Laurent.

Laurent shifted slightly in his seat and his face got blanker again, focussing on a point somewhere at his shoulder. Damen’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Was there anything else you wanted?” said Laurent. He still wasn’t looking right at him.

Damen felt his expectations dip again; he really had no idea what it was he’d said to ruin the friendly moment. “I was hoping you would come out with me today.”

“Why?”

“I want to get to know you better.”

"Do you?”

“Yes,” said Damen. “There’s a place near the river that I think you’d really like. It’s a good way to pass an afternoon.”

There were flower blossoms and a clear rushing waterfall and rocks to climb. That had to be plenty of romance to win a kiss.

“I’ll send for some food from the kitchens that we can take with us,” said Damen. Laurent glanced at him again with a strange expression on his face, as if he had never expected to be put in this position to hear what Damen was saying to him now. “You can bring your book.”

Despite his silence, Damen thought he caught a narrow thread of longing flickering in his wary expression.

“Go on,” Damen said, encouragingly. “Say you’ll come with me.”

Laurent hesitated and then seemed to come to a decision. “All right,” he said. “I’ll go if we can take the horses.”

Damen’s heart soared with victory. “Great,” he said, grinning cheerfully. He plucked the book from Laurent’s hands, carelessly shoving it on the nearest shelf. “Come on then.”

Laurent stood up with narrowed eyes. He went to where Damen had shoved the book and took it back out.

“That’s not where it goes,” he said.

Damen was forced to follow him around the library to watch him put it back in its proper place.

Damen didn’t mind. As he followed Laurent out the door, he felt rather buoyant at the expectation of the rest of the day.

***

Laurent was speaking softly into the ear of the horse, gentling its head with one hand as he led him out from the stables. 

“It’s hot,” said Damen. “You can borrow something more comfortable to wear when we get back.”

“You mean Akielon garments?” said Laurent, his eyes passing over Damen briefly. “No, thank you.”

The amount of judgement Laurent was able to convey in those few words staggered Damen for a moment.

“Suit yourself,” said Damen. And then, deciding there was nothing to be gained by waiting, he let his voice dip and moved closer to him. “I admit the plainness of our clothes would not suit you half as well.”

Damen was a bit taken aback when Laurent mounted his horse and started riding ahead of him as if he had said nothing. “Is the river this way?”

They eventually reached a place where the undergrowth wouldn’t let them take the horses. Laurent dismounted and tied the rein to a tree.

“You’re a good rider,” said Damen. “Is it favoured in Veretian training?”

“My brother taught me to ride. I don’t train with the army.”

“You don’t start military training at your age in Vere?”

“To an extent. But I won’t begin immersive training for another year,” said Laurent. “I prefer to continue with my other studies until then, so that I may serve in an advisory function when Auguste takes the throne.”

Damen nodded, absorbing the idea. For as long as he could remember, Damen had been eager to begin training with the army. His longing had been so straightforward that he couldn’t even remember thinking of it as a choice to make.

“To you it must seem a waste of time,” said Laurent. He sounded stiff. “But Auguste agrees with me.”

Damen noticed the proud way Laurent said his brother’s name, twice now. So the prickly prince loved his brother. It softened something in his chest.

“He’s right to,” said Damen. He dismounted and spoke plainly while tying up his horse. “If you believe that is where your duty lies, then it is admirable for you to follow your own path. Men should have the courage of their convictions.” Finished with his task, Damen looked around at the sun shining down on the water and then turned to Laurent. “Would you like to go for a swim?”

Laurent had been looking in his direction but he seemed taken aback at this change of subject. “Not really.”

Damen shrugged easily and started undoing the pins on his clothes.

“What are you - ”

Laurent’s voice was a muffled sound as he pulled his garment over his head and tossed it to the side. Damen didn’t pay it any mind. Racing to the edge of the water, he jumped in.

“It feels good,” yelled Damen, but Laurent had turned his back to the water and didn’t seem to hear him. 

Damen emerged from the water after his swim feeling decidedly cheerful. Laurent’s mouth was parted slightly as he watched him approach.

“What is it?” said Damen. The sun had reached the highest point in the day. It explained the flush in Laurent’s normally pale cheeks. “Did you change your mind?”

Laurent blinked, looking away. “No.”

He dressed and came to sit closer to Laurent on the grass that was strictly necessary. Laurent watched him do it with an open sort of curiosity. 

Damen closed his eyes with simple pleasure at the sun on him, muscles stretched pleasantly from exercise. He felt good.

When Damen opened them again, Laurent was looking at him, his expression softened almost imperceptibly. Without thinking about it, Damen sat up and dipped his head in.

“What are you doing?” said Laurent.

The words stopped him. Laurent’s back was straight and he met his eyes and raised an eyebrow. Damen realised he was still leaning into him. He hesitated. He wasn’t quite able to tell whether he was being rebuffed or if it was a sincere question.

“Oh,” said Laurent as the pause stretched on. “I think I may have heard a rumour about this tradition?”

Frowning uneasily, Damen moved back. “You shouldn’t pay attention to everything people tell you,” he said. “Even in Akielos, there are some rogues out there.”

“Really?” said Laurent. “How unfortunate.” He stood up. “You’re right, it is hot. I’m ready to go back.”

“All right,” Damen said, confused at the sudden change in his manner. 

“ _I don’t have it!_ ” 

It was a young girl’s voice, high and sharp; both of them turned at it.

“You go back,” said Damen to Laurent. “I’ll take care of it.”

He moved towards the noise and came into a clearing with a small girl and another boy clearly in the middle of an argument. She was a small girl of perhaps eight years. The girl had her chin tipped up stubbornly, despite the fear visible on her face. 

The boy was closer to Damen’s age and much larger than her.

“Hey,” said Damen, loudly. “Hey!”

The boy took one look at Damen coming towards them and bolted. Damen let him go, focussed on checking if the girl was all right. Strangely, the girl stumbled back when Damen walked towards her. 

“She’s scared of you, idiot.” Laurent had followed after him.

“Me?” said Damen, surprised. “She won’t have recognised me.” 

She was clearly from the nearby village, and too young to have ever come to court. Very few would recognise him on sight around here as the Prince without some prompting. 

“It’s not that,” said Laurent. 

Damen realised Laurent meant physically. Damen knew he was growing; he was still getting used to the different way people looked at him, the respect older soldiers gave him now when he met them behind a sword. It was a strange feeling to recognise he’d have to learn to be careful with it, as well.

Laurent approached the girl. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” he said, in his careful Akielon.

The girl regarded him warily but she was clearly less frightened of the foreigner than Damen. “Alena.”

“Alena,” repeated Laurent. He bent down so that he was on her level. “My name is Laurent,” he said. “What was that about, Alena?”

Alena was stubbornly silent.

“Does it have anything to do with this?” said Laurent.

He said it gently but he pulled open her tightly clenched fist firmly. Her cheeks went pink. 

“He dropped it,” Alena said, an unconvincing protest. 

“You stole this from him,” said Damen. Disapproval coloured his voice and Alena turned to face him with wide brown eyes. “That’s a despicable thing to do. Do you think your father would be proud to know he raised a common thief?”

Alena burst promptly into tears. Taken aback, Damen paused. He hadn’t meant for that to happen.

“Stop that,” Damen said, awkwardly.

Laurent shot him an exasperated look and pulled Alena into his arms. Alena went with it easily, letting her back be rubbed as she cried into his shoulder.

“Why did you take it, Alena?” said Laurent.

“I was mad - because he - broke my - toy!” It came out between sobs. 

“Why would he do that?” said Damen.

Alena scrubbed at her eyes with her fist. “He’s _mean_.” She glared at Damen over Laurent’s shoulder. Damen’s sense of bemusement increased.

“You’ll only get in more trouble if you steal his things to get back at him,” said Laurent. “Give it here.”

Alena handed it over, seeming relieved to have it off her hands.

“I wasn’t thinking,” she mumbled. She looked quite downtrodden and helpless; Damen felt a strong surge of sympathy mix with confusion at why anybody would want to upset her.

“Don’t be sad,” said Damen. “I’m going to help you. I’ll have a talk with this boy.” 

He said it determinedly. He wasn’t very good at consoling small children but he could go and fight somebody to make her feel better; that was very comfortably within his range of skills. 

Laurent had been watching him with an assessing expression. He straightened up now, holding onto Alena’s hand.

"No. You can't," said Laurent. "It will only make it worse for her.”

“How do you know?” said Damen.

“Because I have an older brother,” said Laurent.

“So do I,” said Damen, frowning.

Laurent’s mouth quirked. “Yes, and I imagine you never inspired quite enough courage in anybody to dare break your toys. We will replace what she stole ourselves. Discreetly.”

With some reluctance, Damen agreed. They made their way into the village on foot, leaving behind their horses. The plan they formed on the way was straightforward, until Laurent finally asked where she had taken it from.

“I stole it while he bathed,” admitted Alena. “He’s stupid. He leaves his things in the same place every time.”

Damen’s eyebrows went up. Bathhouses for men and women were separated. Deciding he wasn’t ready to have another reproving conversation with Alena lest she start crying again, he kept silent. 

Laurent’s browed were furrowed as well. Damen enjoyed for a brief moment the image of the prim Veretian prince entering a public washroom.

Laurent slanted him a look. “You’re going in.”

“Fine with me,” said Damen.

***

Damen tossed his coin on the table and made his way into the bathhouse. He held off on undressing, throwing his towel over his shoulder, and looked around for Alena’s victim. 

He found the boy energetically relaying his tale to a group of his friends. It was a simple task in the end. Damen slipped past him and his belongings were in the exact place Alena had told him he kept them. He slipped the stolen brooch in his bag and turned to leave.

And then he turned a corner and almost ran into Chares.

Chares would see him in a minute and then his identity would be revealed. If the boy came out to investigate the commotion, he would recognise Damen instantly from the river. Then it would be known he was the prince, snuck into a bathhouse with a stolen brooch. It was a completely ridiculous predicament.

As Damen remained frozen thinking what to do, he was pulled hard by the shoulder of his garment. The surprise of it propelled him forward with a broken yelp.

It was Laurent. Damen landed against him hard in a closet so that their bodies were pressed up against each other.

“My friend - ”

“I know,” said Laurent. “I saw him come in.”

Damen hadn’t known Laurent had been introduced to Chares. He pushed his question to the side; there was the more immediately pressing matter. Laurent, unlike Damen, was dressed in formal palace clothes.

“How did you get past the front desk?”

“I didn’t,” said Laurent. 

The only other way in undetected was to jump the gate. Damen stared at him feeling something unexpected blossom in his chest. 

Laurent looked up and caught his expression. They were pressed close together. Damen placed a hand against the wall near Laurent’s had and leaned in, a question in his eyes. Laurent didn’t move away but he didn’t move forward either: he just stared up at Damen with wide blue eyes. His hands were still on Damen’s biceps from when he had pulled him in. 

Damen dipped his head down so the distance between their faces closed another crucial inch. Laurent tipped his chin up, a strangely defiant move that brought their faces closer together.

And then Damen was pushed back hard. He was taken by such surprise that he stumbled back and the door opened as it hit his back.

Laurent stepped out from the closet after him in a rather dignified fashion.

“He’s gone now,” said Laurent. “Let’s go.”

Disappointment billowed in his chest, so that it was a moment before he could register that Laurent was going the wrong way. He reached out to touch Laurent’s shoulder and felt Laurent tense.

“Sorry,” said Damen. He removed his hand and stepped back to give Laurent his space. He knew that a line had been drawn rather clearly and he had been pushed to the wrong side of it; it was a foreign feeling that he made himself accept. “This way is easier.”

He saw Laurent noticing his decision to not touch him. Laurent opened his mouth, and then, seeming frustrated, closed it without saying anything. They moved quickly towards the back. 

“You go first,” said Damen, as they reached a wall separating from the gate to leave the bathhouse. He watched carefully to see if Laurent needed his help before he offered it. But Laurent jumped up over the wall easily and disappeared on the other side. Damen climbed over and dropped down onto the ground after him.

“What is it?” said Damen. 

Laurent was strangely frozen in place and Damen looked around curiously. Then, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he realised that they had somehow landed right in the middle of the female portion of the bathhouse. 

Damen raised his hands as the eye of every woman in the room came to rest on them. 

"Don't mind us, ladies," said Damen. "We're here to clean the baths."

It might have been the most absurd sentence that had ever left his mouth. But the idea of two young princes being caught like this was terrible. There was a suspended moment where Damen met the shocked stare of an old woman who pulled her towel up higher around her. 

Then the shrieking started. 

“ _Perverts!_ ”

“ _Thieves!_ ”

“ _Get them!_ ”

Laurent wide eyes caught Damen’s. 

“ _Run!_ ” shouted Damen.

Damen ducked various female hygiene products thrown at his head and the sound of feet pounding hard on the ground behind him propelled him to run faster than he had ever before in his life. His heart slammed into his chest as he reached the gate and realised Laurent wasn’t there beside him, and then he was, and Damen was so relieved he had lifted him up and pushed him up forcibly over the gate before he thought about what he was doing. He threw himself over the gate after him and rolled as he landed heavily on the ground on the other side. Laurent’s hand were on him helping him up.

“Go, go, go!” shouted Damen, pushing himself up.

Alena was waiting for them when they rounded the corner in a bolt. Barely stopping as he reached her, Damen hoisted her into his arms, and together they ran as though their lives depended on it. 

As the sound of pursers finally faded into the distance, Damen let Alena down and collapsed bodily onto the ground. He was panting in exhaustion, sheer relief and adrenalin still pumping fast through his veins. He threw an arm over his closed eyes and opened them again in alarm at the sound he heard coming from Laurent. 

Laurent was shaking with laughter, helpless and bright. He appeared to holding himself upright with a hand against a tree and pure force of will. His cheeks were flushed with exertion as he clearly tried and failed to catch his breath.

" _We're here to clean the baths?_ "

Damen let out a groaning laugh. “Don't.”

Eventually Laurent’s laughter petered away. His mouth was still curved with amusement as he gazed down at Damen. There was a warmth in him that Damen hadn't seen before and it unfurled something hot and sweet in his own chest. 

Alena, who had been carried the entire way and was therefore the only one at all composed, put out her hand for Damen. “Come on, get up.”

Damen looked at her hand for a moment and then grinned.

“Thank you,” he said, and took it. Alena pulled with all her weight; Damen did not budge one bit. He felt his grin broadening but Alena didn’t notice. Furrowing her brow, she dug her heels into the ground and pulled harder. 

“Oh no,” said Damen, from the ground. “Laurent, I think I’m stuck. I can’t move."

Laurent rolled his eyes but Damen could see the repressed curve of his mouth. Then Laurent pushed himself up and came forward. He held out a hand. Damen just stared at it for a moment in silent charmed surprise. 

“Well?” said Laurent.

Damen clasped it, and together, Alena and Laurent pulled him up. It was enough to shift him; Laurent was rather surprisingly stronger than Damen had expected. 

Damen put a hand in Alena’s hair briefly, ruffling it. He kept Laurent’s hand loosely in his own for a few moments longer. 

“Thank you,” said Damen, to both of them, looking at Laurent. Watched with interest as Laurent’s cheeks flushed lightly.

Damen let go first. He swung Alena up on his shoulders, who yelped and then laughed delightedly.

“It’s done!” said Damen cheerfully. "We did it!"

“I helped,” said Alena, boasting proudly. “I distracted the owner when Laurent was going to go inside. I told him his storehouse was on fire.”

Damen shared a glance with Laurent. 

“Well done,” said Laurent firmly.

Alena was full of energy after the success of the day and demanded to be let down eventually. They walked to the village leisurely. She was holding on to Laurent’s hand when they came to the front of another inn. 

Laurent must have paid a messenger at the bathhouse because Veretian guards were waiting for them. Laurent approached them with Alena’s hand stilled clasped in his own. His guards bowed to him. 

Damen watched the patrons registering the scene. Nobody would dare bother anybody who had connections to royalty. It was a clear message sent that would reach everybody in the village with nothing said at all. 

Damen wryly thought back to Laurent telling him not to interfere in Alena’s battles. 

“Your Highness.”

Laurent went forward to give his instructions to his men.

“Is Laurent _a prince _?” said Alena, in an awed voice, left behind with Damen. “A _prince?"___

____

____

____

____

__Damen tried very hard not to smile. “Yes, he is.”_ _

__Alena seemed to decide that this made Laurent far more intimidating than Damen after all, and reassessing her options, attached herself to Damen._ _

__Laurent came back to them a short time later for the goodbyes._ _

__“You could make a great soldier one day,” said Damen to Alena, in parting. “You have good instincts.”_ _

__Laurent shot him an annoyed look._ _

__“What?” said Damen. Alena was still clinging to Damen’s leg. He ruffled her hair, quite pleased to have her on his side now. “Alena likes the idea, don’t you, Alena?”_ _

__Laurent took in her glowing expression at the praise and softened visibly._ _

__“There must be something in the water in Akielos,” said Laurent, with rueful amusement. He bent down and briefly took Alena’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Go on, your mother must be looking for you. My guard will escort you home.”_ _

__Alena stared shyly at him with wide brown eyes, gathering all of her courage to say her goodbyes to a prince. She looked quite overwhelmed at the prospect._ _

__“You’re pretty,” she said, a blurt, and kissed his cheek. Then she ran off._ _

__***  
It relaxed the mood between them. Laurent walked with Damen as if it was natural for them to stay together. Damen’s own body was warm and loose with delight of their shared adventure._ _

__He broke off a flower from a nearby bush and held it out._ _

__The image of Damen with the flower seemed to arrest Laurent in motion for a moment._ _

__“For you,” said Damen, prompting. Laurent didn’t move to take it. Damen carefully stepped close, watching to see if Laurent wanted him to stay back. Not seeing any objection, he reached out and tucked the flower behind Laurent’s ear. Laurent allowed it, holding himself very still._ _

__“It suits your eyes,” Damen said._ _

__That seemed to break the spell. Laurent’s mouth twitched and he turned away._ _

__“What?” said Damen._ _

__“Nothing,” said Laurent._ _

__“Come on, what is it?” said Damen. “Tell me.”_ _

__“It’s just,” said Laurent, and then he lifted his hand to his mouth, shoulders shaking lightly. “I had imagined you’d be better at this. My eyes, really?”_ _

__“You don’t like that?” said Damen, feeling encouraged even if Laurent did seem to be laughing at him. Laurent had a lovely smile, peeking out from behind his fingers. Damen wanted to draw his hands away and hold them in his own. “What would you prefer I pay compliment to?”_ _

__“Figure it out yourself,” said Laurent, rather placidly. It seemed the comfortable mood between them extended to this as well. “Would you like it if I paid ridiculous compliments to your eyes?”_ _

__“I don’t know,” said Damen. “Do you like my eyes?”_ _

__There was a startled pause where Laurent’s cheeks went pink. As the pause lengthened Damen felt his mouth curving with warm delight._ _

__“Of course you would,” said Laurent. His cheeks were still a bright colour despite his disparaging tone. “Your ego is as large as it is ridiculous.”_ _

__Damen just basked in it for a moment. Scoffing, Laurent walked determinedly ahead._ _

__“Don’t you want to know what else I might like?” said Damen, following after him. “What do you think of my hair?”_ _

__“It’s too long,” said Laurent. “You look uncivilised.”_ _

__“Take your time to answer,” said Damen dryly. “Very well. What about my ears? Or perhaps my nose?”_ _

__“Absolutely not,” said Laurent. “No.”_ _

__“All right,” said Damen, because the laughter he could hear repressed in Laurent’s voice was the best sound he’d heard all day, “I didn’t want to boast but you had to have noticed my big - “_ _

__Laurent swung around to face him with outraged blue eyes._ _

__“Smile,” said Damen. He was laughing fully himself now. “I’m told it’s my best feature.”_ _

__“Idiot,” said Laurent. Even with his cheeks flushed anew, Damen could see Laurent’s mouth flattening in a clear attempt to hold in his laughter. “You are such an idiot. I have no idea why everybody talks about you the way they do.”_ _

__“You’ve been asking after me?” said Damen, feeling inordinately pleased by the idea. “What did you hear?”_ _

__“I didn’t say that,” said Laurent, sounding exasperated. “Are you committed to hearing whatever you want this afternoon?”_ _

__“Yes,” said Damen. “Let’s return your opinion of my eyes.”_ _

__Laurent’s laughter, when he finally gave into it, was a helpless disbelieving sound. Damen grinned, hardly ever having felt more accomplished._ _

__They reached the edge of the rocks near the ocean. Damen stopped to enjoy the view, liking Laurent at his side looking at it with him._ _

__“You’d probably die if you fell off,” said Laurent._ _

__And that was hardly keeping in line with Damen’s romantic thoughts. He turned a reproachful look at Laurent. “Is that really what you’re thinking about right now?”_ _

__Laurent’s eyes were bright with mischief._ _

__“Jump,” said Laurent, “and if you survive, I’ll pay you an honest compliment.”_ _

__It wasn’t quite what Damen was in the mood for but he gamely went over the ledge to judge the distance. It was not an inconsiderable way down. He measured it with his eyes, calculating his options._ _

__“Is it really fair for you to set all of the terms by yourself?” said Damen._ _

__Laurent raised an eyebrow. “Fine,” he said. “Jump, and you get anything you want from me.”_ _

__“Anything?” Damen said, and grinned. “All right.”_ _

__And then before Laurent could change his mind Damen took a running leap over the cliff. The rush of the water in his dive down was a shocking thrill. He swam up to air with gulping gasps and with broad strokes made his way back to the shore._ _

__Laurent was already there on the sand, waiting as he emerged from the water. He had to have raced down the rocks to already be at the shore by the time Damen made it there._ _

__“I did it!” called Damen cheerfully._ _

__Except Laurent’s face was completely white when he met him, his hands reaching out as though to grab him and then clenching tightly at his sides. “What were you _thinking?_ ” His voice was icy in the extreme. “You could have _killed yourself!_ ”_ _

__His voice had risen with each word. He looked like he might be of a mind to push Damen’s head back underwater himself._ _

__Damen shot him a startled look. “Not really.”_ _

__This answer was apparently so inadequate Laurent couldn’t bear to dignify it with a response. Turning his back to him, he stalked off._ _

__“Where are you going?” said Damen, bewildered. “Laurent. Laurent!”_ _

__Damen had to hurry to catch up with him, falling into step a few paces behind him. It was a little farcical, waiting for when Laurent would let him catch up and walk beside him. Frustrated when he realised that might never happen, he raced ahead so that he was in his way._ _

__“Laurent, stop. Stop,” said Damen. “I’m sorry if I scared you. It wasn’t my intention.”_ _

__Laurent flushed. “Scared me?” he said coldly. “Why on earth would I be scared? I’m simply overcome by your foolishness.”_ _

__“I promise you I was never in any danger,” said Damen. He said it seriously, meeting Laurent’s eyes straightforwardly, wanting Laurent to know he meant it. “The water is still, there are no rocks, and I’ve made that distance before. This is my home. I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t sure I could. I’m not careless.”_ _

__“And what does that prove, except that you have an astonishingly high opinion of yourself?” said Laurent, in a biting voice. Damen said nothing, waiting, and Laurent’s cold expression wavered and then, finally, broke. He looked away. It was another few moments before he spoke._ _

__“Here,” said Laurent._ _

__Shrugging out off his jacket, he held it out to Damen without looking at him._ _

__Damen felt a pulse of surprised pleasure. “Thank you.”_ _

__His garment had half-dried but he had started to feel the chill from the breeze. He wasn’t sure if the jacket would fit properly so he just pulled it over his shoulders with the arms left hanging. It helped; he felt warmer. It was a strange moment of displacement for Damen. Nobody really tried to look after him anymore; he didn’t invite it. But Damen found that he didn’t mind this at all._ _

__“Are you all right?” said Laurent at last, in that same quiet grudging voice._ _

__“Yes, perfectly. Thank you.”_ _

__He met Laurent’s eyes and smiled at him. Laurent, for once, didn’t look away or shutter his expression. If anything, he seemed to rather unwillingly soften some more._ _

__“Well,” said Laurent. There was a pause. “Aren’t you going to claim your prize?”_ _

__Damen had been so wrapped up in his regret that he had upset Laurent so obviously that he had completely forgotten why he had taken the dare in the first place. He bumped Laurent’s shoulder companionably with his own._ _

__“It’s all right,” said Damen easily. “It honours me that you would extend such care for my well-being. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”_ _

__Laurent looked at him for a moment without saying anything, a strange frustration in his blue eyes._ _

__“All right,” he said quietly. He reached out, and the gesture was so uncertain and hesitating that Damen didn’t know what he was going to do as he waited for it to happen. Then he felt Laurent’s fingers gently pushing Damen’s wet hair away from his eyes._ _

__Damen felt a strange flutter in his chest; he was smiling at Laurent again. He couldn’t seem to help it._ _

__“I’ll walk you back home,” said Laurent._ _

__***  
That evening at dinner Laurent had entirely occupied himself in conversation with his brother. _ _

__Damen felt himself staring at him from across the room and couldn’t make himself stop. He had had all of Laurent’s attention on him for one perfect afternoon and now Laurent hadn’t even spared him a single glance. It was as though the afternoon they had shared hadn’t even happened._ _

__That thought that he might not look at him again was so discontenting that Damen had pushed away from the table to cross the room to him before he consciously decided to do so._ _

__“And did you spend another afternoon in the library?” Auguste was saying to Laurent._ _

__“I didn’t,” said Laurent, who didn’t look at all like he minded being teased. His face was bright with pleasure in his older brother’s company; he reminded Damen a little bit of Alena just then. “I suppose you spent another afternoon throwing pointy sticks at rabbits.”_ _

__“How did you pass your time then?” said Auguste, laughing. “What? Did you finally manage to talk to him?”_ _

__Laurent’s face went a bright red as he noticed Damen coming up behind them. “Auguste, shut up.”_ _

__“Talk to who?” said Damen._ _

__Auguste turned around. “Ah,” he said, glancing at Laurent. “Nobody.”_ _

__“Laurent spent the day with me,” said Damen. “We went to the river.”_ _

__Laurent’s expression had gone very blank. Damen tried to catch his eyes and failed._ _

__“Thank you for keeping my brother company while I was gone,” said Auguste._ _

__“It was my pleasure,” said Damen. “I hoped I might speak with him now.”_ _

__Auguste looked at Laurent, and his expression did something assessing. “Why don’t you stay here so we can all talk?” he said in his good-natured way._ _

__“No,” said Laurent. “I’ll go speak to him.”_ _

__Auguste raised his eyebrows and Laurent made a strange face at him as he stepped around him. Damen followed after him, still feeling unsettled and thinking about what he had overheard. Who had Laurent wanted to talk to? Was that why he was avoiding him?_ _

__Laurent was clever and beautiful, not tall and broad like Damen, but lean, graceful and long-limbed. It wasn't hard to imagine men falling at his feet. It wasn't hard to feel it._ _

__Damen was frowning by the time they reached the balcony. “You know,” he said to Laurent, “If there’s somebody you like, you should tell me. Not everybody is honourable even in Akielos.”_ _

__“Oh really?” said Laurent._ _

__“I didn’t want to bring it up,” he said. “But what you were told about Akielon custom of kissing strangers is entirely false. If anybody ever tries to make you do that, then you need to tell me so that I can deal with them appropriately.”_ _

__Laurent went to lean his arms against the railing and slid a look at him. “Isn’t it just a harmless jest?”_ _

__“Nobody should trick you into doing anything you don’t want to,” said Damen seriously._ _

__Laurent turned to look at him. “It’s only a kiss,” he said. “What if I wanted it?”_ _

__“Well,” said Damen. The idea that Laurent already had somebody he wanted made his spirits sink. “Then you should do as you please.”_ _

__Laurent looked at him with frustrated blue eyes._ _

__"Who is it?" said Damen._ _

__"What?" said Laurent._ _

__"Point them out to me,” he said._ _

__Laurent smiled faintly. "And then what?”_ _

__“I’m a good judge of character. I know most of the people here well. I can tell you about them.”_ _

__“You’d like to help me, out of your good will and charitable nature?” said Laurent. His mouth was still curved, eyes unexpectedly gentle with amusement. “Oh, Damianos. You’ll be a great man in a few years.”_ _

__Damen furrowed his brow. “In a few years?” He would come of age in the next season; he didn’t consider himself a child now. Laurent looked back at him with a guileless expression, but Damen knew him better now. He folded his arms. “You’re baiting me.”_ _

__Laurent’s mouth twitched, before it broke into a proper, helpless smile. His blue eyes were bright with it. Damen’s pulse skipped, all of his indignation instantly dropping away._ _

__“You make it too easy,” said Laurent. “I really never imagined you’d be like this.”_ _

__It was the second time he’d said something like that. Damen came to lean against the balcony railing next to him._ _

__“Did you have any opportunity to imagine it?” said Damen. “You never gave me the time of the day before I found you in the library.”_ _

__Laurent gazed at Damen, his expression open and relaxed._ _

__“The first time we met,” said Laurent, “you looked straight past me.”_ _

__Damen was surprised. “That’s not true.”_ _

__“It was four seasons ago. I was with Auguste and you broke into an argument with him over the result of the tournament. I stayed by his side the entire day and the only time you spoke to me was to wish me farewell. I think I could still probably repeat some of your conversation back to you.”_ _

__Damen felt the words slowly unfurl something warm and hopeful in him._ _

__"You weren’t like this,” said Laurent, “back then.”_ _

__“As long as you like it now,” said Damen honestly, “I don’t care how you imagined it before.”_ _

__“Did I say anything about liking it?”_ _

__“No,” said Damen. “But I think you might.”_ _

__“What,” said Laurent. “I’m just that obvious?”_ _

__Damen knew it was meant to be a derisive retort but the tone was all wrong, soft, like a real question, as though Laurent really wondered if he was._ _

__Damen raised a hand to Laurent’s cheek, brushing his thumb over the amazing blush starting to spread there. Laurent was very still, allowing it. Damen gazed at him in wonder and watched the colour in his cheeks deepen._ _

__“I want to kiss you,” said Damen._ _

__He said it softly into the small space left between them, and waited. Laurent didn't move. His gaze was dark with frustration and longing that Damen didn’t entirely understand._ _

__Damen moved closer to him, allowing time for Laurent to move away. He didn't. Damen leaned down and Laurent tilted his head up and then the distance between them was gone. Damen moved his mouth against his, slow and careful. When he slid his hand to cup his face, Laurent’s lips parted slightly. Laurent kissed Damen back once, and then again, and again._ _

__They were kissing. Damen felt it in his body when Laurent’s mouth opened to his, hot and plush, easy to fall into. Damen’s tongue was in his mouth and Laurent was giving it slow, rhythmic sucks. Heat sparked through his blood, and he leaned further into Laurent, Laurent’s leg sliding between Damen’s thigh. Damen’s hands tightened on Laurent’s waist._ _

__Laurent sighed against his lips, and then he turned his head to the side so that the kiss broke. “I suppose you have to go now.”_ _

__“What?” said Damen. He felt slow and hot all over. “Why?”_ _

__Laurent pushed gently at his chest and stepped back. He wasn’t meeting his eyes; his lips were still red from the kiss. “Your friends are probably looking for you.”_ _

__“They can wait,” said Damen, making to step close again. The flush on Laurent’s cheeks was lovely and mesmerising. Damen wanted to see it deepen and spread._ _

__“But then how will you tell them you won the wager?”_ _

__Damen felt himself freeze and go cold all over._ _

__“I heard you speaking to them,” said Laurent. He still had his head turned away. “I know why you suddenly started paying attention to me. I’ve known since the beginning.”_ _

__“I don’t understand.” It was too much to process immediately. “If you heard me, then why did you - ”_ _

__“What?” said Laurent. He raised his eyes to meet Damen’s. “Let you kiss me? Why do you think?”_ _

__Damen felt that like a blow. Laurent let out a breath and looked away again._ _

__“It was just a kiss,” said Laurent, his voice flat and wrong. “Do you think I care?”_ _

__“Laurent - ”_ _

__But just then the door opened, and he realised this too had been planned. Laurent had to have seen them coming even as he gave in to the kiss, limiting the time he would spend alone with Damen afterwards. There was nothing Damen could say in front of everybody else._ _

__“Wait,” said Damen anyway as Laurent turned to go. He took hold of his elbow._ _

__“Let go,” said Laurent._ _

__And then, because Damen couldn’t stand not to give him what he wanted in that moment, he did._ _

__***  
It was impossible to find Laurent after that. _ _

__Damen thought about the morning he had come across Laurent in the library and he realised now what he hadn’t then: he’d been given a chance. It filled Damen with panic when he thought about it. He had already blown it, and he hadn’t even known._ _

__“Nikandros,” said Damen, on the fifth day he failed to find Laurent, “if a girl you were courting was cross with you, how would you do to make it up to her?”_ _

__“I don’t like complications,” said Nikandros. “I’d stop pursuing her.”_ _

__Damen turned that over dubiously in his mind for a moment._ _

__“All right,” he said, indulging him. “But alternatively, what kind of gift do you think would be best?”_ _

__Nikandros looked up. He studied Damen for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh._ _

__“Just go apologise,” Nikandros said. “Ask him what he wants.”_ _

__“I don’t know what you mean,” said Damen, stiffly, and left without another word._ _

__***_ _

__In the end he did what should have been strikingly obvious from the beginning. He went looking for Auguste, who was engaged in a training bout with his guards. Laurent was preoccupied watching him from the sidelines when Damen slipped up next to him._ _

__“Oh,” said Laurent when he noticed him. He turned back to watch his brother, leaning against the railing. “It’s you.”_ _

__“I wanted to speak to you.”_ _

__“Here?” Laurent’s eyes flickered to him. “You know, there are quite a few weapons available.”_ _

__It was ridiculous; Damen had to keep his voice low to keep from being overheard. He could see that Laurent was going to refuse going anywhere with him._ _

__“I want to apologise,” said Damen. If he was only going to let him speak to him like this then so be it; he wouldn’t let the opportunity pass if it was going to be his only chance. “I’m sorry. I don’t care about the wager. It was stupid. I wasn’t thinking it might hurt you.”_ _

__“Don’t concern yourself about me,” said Laurent. His tone was cool and impersonal. “It is an honour to be considered a prize by the Prince of Akielos. I have been conquered. Congratulations.”_ _

__Damen flushed. He missed with a sudden desperation the Laurent who had run from a bathhouse with him and laughed at him and walked him back to his rooms to make sure he was all right. He didn’t know what to do to get him back._ _

__“I’m sorry,” Damen said again. “It was horrible and thoughtless of me. I’m a fool. I wish I had never done it.”_ _

__Laurent didn’t say anything as though he might not even be listening to him at all except for how stiffly he held himself._ _

__“Is there anything I can do to have you forgive me?” Damen said._ _

__“There is nothing to forgive. Take heart in your accomplishments. You made me do exactly as you pleased.”_ _

__“I never wanted to make you do anything,” said Damen._ _

__Laurent raised his eyebrows in polite disbelief and turned to face him. “Is that so?”_ _

__Damen blew out a hard breath and ran a frustrated hand through his hair._ _

__“I admit I wanted you to - look at me,” said Damen. “I wanted that for a long time. The first day you arrived here. That was why I —“ He broke off, flushing again. “Spending a day in your company only made me want it so much more. But I didn’t kiss you because of some wager.” Damen said, with complete honesty, “When I kissed you, I wasn’t thinking of anything but you.”_ _

__Laurent was still, staring at Damen. His expression had grown a little uncertain._ _

__“I won’t ask anything of you. I can’t. But I wanted to apologise. And I want you to know that I didn’t tell anybody,” said Damen. He felt a familiar jolt of shame he had felt all the time since that day, remembering how Laurent had looked at him and knowing it was entirely his fault. He looked down at his hands. “I won’t tell anyone.”_ _

__Then he pushed off the railing and left Laurent alone._ _

__***_ _

__The small part of Damen that had carried a flame of hope that Laurent might speak to him after he apologised had been entirely extinguished by the time the day arrived that the Veretian party was to leave Akielos._ _

__All of the royal family assembled at the front of the palace in farewell. Damen felt unrelentingly miserable as he waited. It felt like a particularly cruel twist of fate that he had to wish him farewell when Laurent had made it clear he had no interest in seeing him and Damen had no inclination to see him leave._ _

__Damen dutifully exchanged the required courtesies with the Veretian party as they went down the line; he could sense when Laurent drew nearer to him, and then Laurent was there in front of him._ _

__"Prince Laurent," said Damen. It made him feel grim and miserable all over again to address him formally. “I wish you a safe return home.”_ _

__Laurent was looking at him with an inscrutable expression._ _

__"Prince Damianos," said Laurent. And then, in a different voice, “What you said before. Do you really want to make it up to me?”_ _

__Damen blinked at him. “Yes,” he said in a low voice. He was conscious of both of their families around them. “I’d do anything.”_ _

__“Then this is what I want,” said Laurent._ _

__Laurent stepped forward and before Damen realised what was happening Laurent had pulled him down and kissed him right on the mouth. It wasn’t a chaste press of the lips; it was the kiss of a lover, deep and long. Damen felt Laurent’s fingers curling in his hair as Damen kissed him back. It went on for some time._ _

__Damen’s face flamed a bright red when Laurent finally broke away._ _

__All of the court had seen them._ _

__His _father_ had seen._ _

__Damen had never been more mortified in his life, and all he wanted was for Laurent to kiss him again._ _

__“You win,” said Laurent._ _

__His smile, Damen thought, really was breathtakingly lovely._ _

__“Yes,” said Damen helplessly, and then realised Laurent was talking about the wager. There would be no denying what had just been witnessed by two royal families and the entire Akielon court._ _

__“Will you write to me?” said Laurent. Amazingly, he sounded a little shy._ _

__“Every day,” said Damen, too loudly, an overeager blurt. His face burned hotter. His father had to have definitely heard that. He pushed on. “I promise.”_ _

__Laurent smiled. “Maybe not everyday,” he said. “But as often as you can.”_ _

__Auguste’s face was twisting like it didn’t know what expression to settle on after what he had just witnessed. Finally, after a long look at a still mostly speechless Damen, he clapped him on his shoulder._ _

__“I suppose you had better come visit Vere soon,” said Auguste._ _

__Damen managed a nod._ _

__Damen walked back dazed without really noticing where he was going, barely aware of the excited chatter he was leaving behind him; he just needed to move. A sudden overwhelming need to tell somebody rose in him, as if by that act he could make what had happened concrete and real, irreversible._ _

__“Nikandros,” said Damen, faintly. Then, as it finally settled in some more, he felt his mouth broadening in a helpless grin. He whooped loudly and left for the fields at a run. “Nikandros! Nikandros! You won't believe what just happened!”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I wrote this literally 4 years ago but I decided I'd post it because I miss ♥♥♥DAMEN/LAURENT♥♥♥ so much. What an OTP. 
> 
> If you're willing to accept that I am really quite bad at social media, you can find me talking into the void [here on twitter](https://twitter.com/dawpecked/with_replies).


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